The last place Gabriella Montez expected to end up on this vacation was on a stage, under a spotlight. She had massive stage fright, and she got nervous around strangers, and all she wanted to do was finish reading her book. Yet, there she was.
It made her feel a little bit better that the boy that got dragged up there with her looked just as uncomfortable as she was. She jumped as the music started to play, a song she recognized, thank god, and she turned away from the boy, looking out above the sea of people, finding a nice spot on the far wall to stare at. Then he opened his mouth, and she got chills. He could sing. And she wasn't half bad, either, and together, she realized, they actually sounded pretty great. She loosened up, letting herself go, forgetting entirely that she was on stage until the last note.
With the applause from the crowd, the trance was broken. Shyly, she met the boy's eyes. He stuck out his hand.
"Troy," he told her. She took his hand. His eyes were blue.
"Gabriella," she told him. He smiled, and she could swear she saw his eyes sparkle.
The two got pushed off the stage in a flurry of excitement. There were five more minutes until midnight – until the New Year.
"I hear there's supposed to be fireworks," Troy said. "Want to go outside and check it out?" He rose his voice over the crowd. Gabriella nodded. Outside, it was much quieter.
"That was pretty incredible, up there," Troy said with a grin.
"Yeah, it was. I've never done something like that before. It was just – amazing!"
"You're telling me you don't sing on a regular basis? You're so good!"
"Just church choir, I guess. What about you?"
"I'm sure my shower head is very impressed," he said. She laughed, before shivering. It was freezing outside, and her shirt was thin.
"Here," Troy said, immediately taking off his hoodie and giving it to her.
"But won't you be cold?" she asked.
"I'm fine," he insisted.
"Thank you," she said, accepting the sweatshirt gratefully.
"So, where are you from?" Troy asked.
"Right now, I'm from New York City."
"Right now?"
"Well, me and my mom move around a lot. My dad died when I was young. We've been in New York for a little more than two months, so that will probably change in another month or so…sorry, I'm rambling," she said, cutting herself off. "What about you? Where are you from?"
"Sorry about your dad," he said sincerely. She just shrugged in response. "I'm from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Pretty far from you, which is unfortunate. I'm in the market for a new duet partner." She gave him a look. He laughed. "I'm joking."
"As much fun as that was tonight, you probably won't catch me on stage anytime soon," she said. "I'll probably be too busy with school anyway."
"What grade are you in?"
"I'm a freshman in high school."
"Oh, me too."
Gabriella grinned. "Well – " She was cut off as people started chanting, counting down to the New Year.
"5…4…3…2…1!"
Loud cheering erupted around them, and she heard loud popping as fireworks went off.
"Looks like you heard right," she smiled, looking up at the sky.
"Yeah," he said softly, so quiet she barely heard him. She cleared her throat.
"I should probably go find my mom," she said. "Wish her a Happy New Year."
"Okay," he said, shifting his gaze to her. He sounded disappointed. "I'll…I'll call you! Here!" He pulled out his phone, handing it to her. "Put your number in!"
"Yeah! Okay," she said, pulling out her own phone and handing it to him.
"You know," he said as he took his phone back from her, "singing with you was the most fun I've had on this entire vacation."
"Me too," she smiled, shrugging off his jacket. "Thanks for lending me that. It's comfy. I should get myself one."
Troy laughed, and she couldn't help but smile. His joy was contagious.
"Anytime. Bye, Gabriella."
"Bye, Troy."
/
Gabriella hadn't heard from Troy in the two weeks since the end of her vacation. He'd left the day after they'd met, three days before she did. She had accepted the fact that he had probably forgotten about her, though she thought about him a lot.
In that time, she and her mother had moved from New York to Louisiana, and she was feeling quite lonely. The city life was all hustle and bustle – she could always find something to do when she was bored. All she had to do was step onto the street to be surrounded by excitement. In rural Louisiana, however, she was literally stuck watching tumbleweeds roll across the dirt driveway.
"Honey, are you okay?"
Gabriella turned to her mother, who was standing in her doorway.
"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. I just miss the city," she sighed. "I don't like it here very much. But hey, it's not for long, right?" Maria Montez frowned.
"No, I suppose not."
"It's totally okay, Mom. I'm gonna find out what there is to do around here."
"Okay, baby. I'm going into work for a bit, to make sure everything is set up for my first day tomorrow."
After her mother left, Gabriella stopped gazing through the window and moping, logging onto the computer in the hopes that it would cheer her up.
Maybe I can find a nearby book club or something to join, she thought. She logged on to Facebook to start her search, and was met with a pop-up notification.
You have a friend request from Troy Bolton.
"He remembered me," she said to herself quietly, a tiny smile crossing her face. She clicked accept. Almost immediately, a message box popped up on her screen.
Troy: Hey! How are you?
Gabriella grinned as she typed her response.
Gabriella: I'm okay. What about you?
Troy: Just okay?
Gabriella: We moved again. In Louisiana, now. Not much to do here.
Troy: That sucks, I'm sorry. You started school yet?
Gabriella: Eh, I learn to live with it. I don't start for three more days, because of the move. I hate it.
Troy: Hey, look on the bright side. You're closer to me!
Gabriella's heart fluttered.
Gabriella: Still too far away.
Troy: I wish you were here to drag me away from my dad's basketball practices.
Gabriella: Is he working you too hard?
Troy: As a wise girl once said: "Eh, I learn to live with it."
Gabriella: Haha. I'm sure he's just trying to help you, in the long run. So, Troy Bolton, tell me more about yourself.
Troy: My favorite colors are red and blue. My favorite animal is a wildcat, which also happens to be our school mascot. My best friend is named Chad. I actually really like my English class, even though I write terrible essays. What about you?
Gabriella: I like blue, too, but my favorite is orange. I love turtles, because when I was younger, me, my mom, and my dad went on vacation and we went swimming with them. I like science and math, I'm pretty good at them.
Troy: You're good at math?
Gabriella: Um, yeah. Why?
Gabriella's attention was ripped from her computer as her phone began to ring across the room. She rushed to grab it before it went to voicemail.
"Hello?"
"Wanna help me with my geometry homework?"
Gabriella smiled at the sound of Troy's voice.
"Sure."
